A Grand Tour Part 4: Urban Limericks

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This is the final article in a four part series which totally geeks out on cities.

Double vision city. Collage © 2010 Alan Miller.

A famous flâneur and me,

Sat down one day for tea,

He observed with a grin,

That the line is drawn thin,

Between cities which look and which see.

Sydney. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

I knew this bloke in Sydney

Who bought a flat with his kidney

When its value decreased,

He fast made his peace,

With an odious thug called Zidney.

Catch Cheating Spouse, Singapore. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

When we landed in Singapore,

We went on a swell free tour,

Which had as its theme,

The progressive dream,

Of a city that’s never a bore.

Rue de Rivoli. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

Paris is the pick of the oeuvre,

Notwithstanding the folks in the Louvre,

Who shoot video,

More useless than snow,

So the scholars can’t even manoeuvre.

Ronchamp. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

In Ronchamp a dude called Corb,

Said towers are making me bored,

So he drew up a chapel,

As crisp as an apple,

Which left dear old Gropius floored.

Belfort. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

In Belfort it would be a crime,

To bake a croissant less than sublime,

This sweet little town,

With its purple stone crown,

Seemed almost to float above time.

Colmar. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

In Colmar there is this painting,

Which encourages faith and fainting,

Since its aura extends,

To the city’s dead ends,

It’s luck to have an R rating.

Campione d'Italia. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

In Campione’s it’s hardly a treat,

To walk Mussolini’s beat,

Just avoid the casino,

Blingier than Reno,

And you’ll sleep in the gangster’s suite.

Milano. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

Milano has chewy air,

But what’s worse is the hardened stare,

Which you feel on your back,

Like a cyber attack,

When your clothes are not ready to wear.

Venezia. Photo © 2010 Alan Miller.

In Venice they seem to ignore,

The twenty-first century’s roar,

They used to go fishin’,

But you can’t eat a Titian,

Or a billboard of Julianne Moore.

About the author

Alan Miller

Alan Miller is a graduate of the Sydney University Faculty of Architecture and the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. A fanatical cyclist, he is a former Sydney Singlespeed Champion. He reports on cycling, film, architecture, politics, photography and various mixtures of the above.

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